The slate includes several Oscar winners, including The Hobbit's senior VFX supervisor Joe Letteri from Weta, a four-time Oscar winner (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, King Kong and Avatar); Industrial Light & Magic's John Knoll, VFX supervisor on Pacific Rim, who won an Oscar for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; and Digital Domain's Eric Barba, VFX supervisor on Oblivion, who won an Oscar for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Some notable previous nominees include ILM's Roger Guyett, VFX supervisor on Star Trek Into Darkness, who was previously nominated for Star Trek and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; and Gravity's VFX supervisor, Framestore's Tim Webber, was previously nominated for The Dark Knight.

The Hobbit, which opens Dec. 13, is the only film on the shortlist yet to have its theatrical debut.

The 10 films will be presented to the VFX branch during a "bake-off" in January. That evening, branch members will vote on which five films will receive Oscar nominations in the category.